In a week between a deflating loss at Chester and the Downingtown Civil War matchup against Downingtown East looming, one could say that the Whippets of Downingtown West were ripe for a trap game tonight against Bishop Shanahan.
That was not the case however, as Downingtown West clobbered Bishop Shanahan by a score of 43-7 on the Whippets’ senior night.
Following a short punt, it took Downingtown West three plays to go 50 yards and stake a claim to a 7-0 lead on a Kam Alex five-yard run. Another short field gave the Whippets a 14-0 lead when Spencer Dunn barrelled in from two yards out.
Bishop Shanahan was fairly competitive at this point but was unable to sustain drives. The Eagles were able to drive into West territory, only to be turned back on a fourth and short. From there, the floodgates opened. Quinn Henicle scored from five yards out on an option run to make it 21-0. He then threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Barry to put the Whippets up 29-0. The only thing that went wrong for West, was a bad snap on the extra point, which turned into a conversion for 29-0.
Following an extended delay due to weather, the Whippets scored on the opening drive of the half. The mercy rule was put into effect when Quinn Henicle hit Dean Hangey for a 26-yard pass to make it 36-0. Jordan Haylock put the Eagles on the scoreboard with a 48-yard run, and Antonio Gonzalez closed out the scoring on a 12-yard run.
Downingtown West rolled up 434 yards of offense, led by Quinn Henicle’s 205 yards passing and two touchdowns on 11-14 passing. Dean Hangey had 112 yards receiving (five catches) on the night. Jordan Haylock had 112 yards and a score for Shanahan.
After the game, Shanahan coach Paul Meyers said that if they beat Chichester, they would get a home game in the 4A playoffs. “Landon (Wright) threw the ball well today. We moved the ball well, but we had a few drives stall, and then the wheels fell off after not converting the fourth and short. If we made it 14-7, it would have been a different ball game, than being down 29-0.”
West coach stated, “We had a great week of practice. The loss to Chester was a teachable moment. We didn’t have a great week of practice after Coatesville. We weren’t excited to see them (Chester), but they were excited to see us. We need to be consistent. Consistency is a key to getting far in the playoffs.”
